Selection criteria
We have included in this list only those projects that meet 4 key criteria:
1. Ethereum (ETH)
Founders: Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood
Why a strong team?
• Vitalik Buterin — co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine, one of the most respected people in the crypto industry.
• Gavin Wood created Polkadot and wrote Ethereum code in Solidity.
• The team includes researchers from MIT, Stanford, ConsenSys.
• Investors: ConsenSys, a16z, Vitalik Buterin.
2. Solana (SOL)
Founder: Anatoly Yakovenko
Why a strong team?
• Anatoly Yakovenko — expert in distributed systems (Qualcomm).
• Co-founder — Greg Fitzgerald (core developer of Solana).
• Engineers from Google, Microsoft, Intel.
• Investors: a16z, Multicoin Capital, Alameda Research.
3. Polkadot (DOT)
Founder: Gavin Wood
Why a strong team?
• Gavin Wood — co-founder of Ethereum, creator of the Solidity language.
• Team Parity Technologies (developers of Ethereum and Substrate).
• Scientific consultants from Oxford and ETH Zurich.
• Investors: Web3 Foundation, Coinbase Ventures.
4. Avalanche (AVAX)
Founder: Emin Gün Sirer
Why a strong team?
• Emin Gün Sirer — professor at Cornell, creator of the first PoS consensus (Snowflake to Avalanche).
• Team: PhD in cryptography and distributed systems.
• Investors: a16z, Polychain Capital, Bitmain.
5. Cosmos (ATOM)
Founder: Jae Kwon
Why a strong team?
• Jae Kwon — creator of Tendermint (BFT consensus algorithm).
• Developers from Google, IBM, All in Bits.
• Investors: Paradigm, Bain Capital.
6. Chainlink (LINK)
Founder: Sergey Nazarov
Why a strong team?
• Sergey Nazarov — one of the first smart contract developers (SmartContract.com).
• Team: ex-Google, Oracle, Swift.
• Investors: Google Ventures, a16z.
7. Near Protocol (NEAR)
Founders: Ilya Polosukhin, Alexander Skidanov
Why a strong team?
• Ilya Polosukhin — ex-Google (machine learning), ICPC winner.
• Developers from Meta, Microsoft, Niantic.
• Investors: a16z, Coinbase Ventures.
8. Sui (SUI)
Founders: former developers at Meta (Diem/Libra)
Why a strong team?
• Creators of the Move language (similar to Solidity for Ethereum).
• Team: ex-Meta, Novi, Mysten Labs.
• Investors: a16z, Binance Labs.
9. Aptos (APT)
Founders: ex-Meta (Diem)
Why a strong team?
• Strong team from Diem (closed blockchain of Meta).
• Developers of the Move language and parallel transaction execution.
• Investors: a16z, Tiger Global.
10. Internet Computer (ICP)
Founder: Dominic Williams
Why a strong team?
• Dominic Williams — cryptographer, creator of Threshold Relay.
• Engineers from Google, IBM, Intel.
• Investors: Polychain Capital, Andreessen Horowitz.
✅ This list will help you:
• Start analyzing crypto projects not 'on hype', but for a reason
• Develop visual acuity
• Avoid random investments in scams
But if you want not just to follow the market, but learn to manage your money wisely, build an investment portfolio, understand DeFi and grasp professional strategies — subscribe to us on X (Twitter) @CryptoTrandsand 🐦
This will be a huge support for me for such a selection 💪🚀